About me :)

Karen Barclay memory quilts started out on a visit to London. I went to a knitting and stitching show with a friend just to keep her company and returned home with a large bag of material just because I liked it!

Not being a waster I decided to make a quilt with all the pieces. I did this instinctively and had great fun with it. About six quilts later I was told by my Mum that my Gran used to make quilts from scraps. I had never met my Gran, or new anything about her. My Grandad was also artistic, he worked down the mines but for extra money he would sit outside universities and draw people.

A few years later my friend's husband died, I visited her one day and found her clutching a pile of his shirts. I took them away and returned them in quilt form, this solved two problems. The first being what to do with a loved ones clothes without feeling guilty, and the second one being that people look so much more sane cuddled up in a quilt than clutching a pile of clothes.

I have since been commissioned to make memory quilts for grandparents, husbands, wives, and children, new baby quilts and baby shower quilts, and quilts for weddings made from a piece of clothing from each wedding guest. I love looking at a pile of clothes and making them into something to be kept forever with memories to be cherished.

I live with my husband of over 40 years and a Cokapoo called Arthur, in stunning North Devon in a converted barn, I have two talented sons, long since left home. Sam is a Graphic Designer and Tom is an Entrepreneur.  I love good service, people who think outside of the box, good food,  books, sculpture, great design, gardens, interiors, quilts (of course), dark brown leather, a sence of humour, New England and Scandinavian style, anything well made and interesting characters. 

Enjoy browsing my website and please feel free to get in contact with me if you think I can turn your cherished clothes and memories into something beautiful, or if you have a quilt idea you think I may be interested in.

I also have a Etsy shop called Karen Barclay Designs where you can buy one off items that I have made.